Neuroethics Essay Contest

The Neuroethics Essay Contest aims to promote interest in neuroethics among students and trainees early in their academic careers. The contest is held annually and is open to any student in high school or secondary school, any post-secondary student, and any postdoctoral fellow or similar early-career trainee.

The contest is organized by the members of the INS Student/Postdoc Committee and leadership from the International Youth Neuroscience Association (IYNA), and has been supported every year by Dr. Michael Patterson, former editor of the Kopf Carrier and long-time supporter of neuroethics.

The essay call for the 2020 competition has been posted online. Please review it for complete information about author eligibility, essay topics, and submission instructions.

Essay Call

Winners

2019

Top student essays selected in the Neuroethics Essay Contest – The INS and International Youth Neuroscience Association (IYNA) have selected Khayla Black, Sunidhi Ramesh and Prithvi Nathan as the winning authors of the 2019 contest. Each winner received a 1-year membership to the INS and has been invited to be recognized at the 2019 annual meeting. The winning essays will be published on the Dana Foundation website, and all eligible submissions to the high school category will be considered for publication in the IYNA Journal. 

Academic Essay

Khayla Black

New York University Shanghai

Khayla Black is a sophomore at New York University Shanghai majoring in neural sciences. Her research interests include synaptic physiology, aging, and the molecular basis of learning and memory. She hopes to earn a doctorate in neuroscience and study synaptic physiology and how neurotransmission changes with age. Outside of neuroscience, she spends her time working in the quantum technologies group at NYU Shanghai and running.

• CNS Intervention in the Courtroom: An Ethical Evaluation of the Rehabilitative Potential of SSRIs (Dana Foundation) (PDF)

General Audience

Sunidhi Ramesh

Sidney Kimmel Medical College

Sunidhi Ramesh is a second year medical student at Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the managing editor of The Neuroethics Blog. She is also the education co-director for the Philadelphia Human Rights Clinic. Sunidhi graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Emory University in 2018 with degrees in sociology and neuroscience. Her current research centers around neurology and neurosurgery, particularly on perceptions of invasive brain surgery, novel acute ischemic stroke interventions, and the implementation of tele-stroke protocols in hospital emergency rooms.

• Growing Brains: Warnings from a Cell Line that Became Immortal (Dana Foundation) (PDF)

High School

Prithvi Nathan

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

• The Right to Neurotechnology: Exploring the Government’s Role on Societal Stratification in the Future of Human Enhancement (Dana Foundation) (PDF)

2018

Academic

• Personhood: Projection or Perception? – Elizabeth M. Ingram, North Carolina State University (Published by The Dana Foundation)

General Audience

• Not Our Problem? The Neuroethical Implications of Youth Detainment – Jean Ngoc Boulware, The University of Chicago (Published by The Dana Foundation)

2017

Academic

• Neuroethics in Neurolaw: Exploring notions of duality and the implications for evidence and ethics – Joseph J. Avery, Princeton University (Published by The Dana Foundation)

General Audience

• A Medical Solution to Reducing Police Brutality – Natalia Montes, University of Washington (Published by The Dana Foundation)

2016

Academic

• Addicted and Attached: A Neglected Perspective on Neuroscience Research Linking Addiction and Love – by Monique Wonderly, Princeton University (Published by The Dana Foundation)
• Oops, There Goes My Childhood: Identity and Ethical Issues in the Selective Erasing of Memories – by Kaitlyn McGlothlen, University of Washington (Published by The Dana Foundation)

2015

Academic

• The Suffering of Mice and Men: A Utilitarian Approach to Animal Experimentation – Jennifer Lee, McGill University
• "Neuroethics in Neuroscience Series: A Brief Examination of the Ethical Concerns Associated with Language and Communication Impairments in Legal Proceedings – Joseph Wszalek, University of Wisconsin-Madison. (Published in Kopf Carrier)

2014

Academic

• "Location of the soul and acceptance of brain death in the East and West," by Qing Yang, Yale University School of Medicine. (Published in Kopf Carrier)
• "Exploring the Ethical Implications of the Commercialization of Physiological Computing," by Katie L. Strong, Emory University. (Published in Kopf Carrier)

Supporters

Winning authors 2019: Khayla Black, Sunidhi Ramesh and Prithvi Nathan; pictured with contest supporter Dr. Michael Patterson, far left, and Hank Greely, past president of the INS, back row second from right.

Dr. Michael Patterson

The INS started the Neuroethics Essay Contest in 2014 and Dr. Mike Patterson has been involved from the beginning, publishing winning essays in the quarterly trade publication Kopf Carrier and providing two winning authors with a $250 travel stipend to attend the annual meeting. Although retired from his role as editor of the Kopf Carrier, Dr. Patterson continues to promote interest in neuroethics among students and early career professionals through his support for the contest.

About the INS

The International Neuroethics Society is an interdisciplinary group of scholars, scientists, clinicians, and other professionals dedicated to encouraging and inspiring research and dialogue on the responsible use of advances in brain science. Practitioners from a wide range of disciplines join the Society to interact, learn, and participate in critical neuroethics discussions that further this growing field.